Does your fireplace need an upgrade or do you need one for your commercial or residential renovation, or new build? Whether traditional or modern, the sky is the limit when you're in the hands of ROCCO MASONS! 

The carveable limestone you see in our slideshow is ordered directly from the quarries of Indiana, and used (in most cases) for our fireplace mantels and surrounds. It is hand carved or fabricated using the traditional tools of the Stone Carving Trade by our Stone Carver Ryan Watson and comes in a variety of colours.

Stay warm and cozy this winter in front of your custom hand carved fireplace in stone by Saskatoon's award winning Masonry company, ROCCO MASONS! What do our customers say - CLICK HERE!

Call ROCCO MASONS today at (306)270-3247 or email contact@roccomasons.com for your complimentary consultation. 
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"We couldn't be happier with the results of the work done by Rocco Masons. With Ryan's help, we achieved the look we were hoping for. We are doing a renovation to our 100+ year old character home on Queen St. Our goal was to spruce it up while paying respect aesthetically to the traditional appearance of our home. I've always loved angels! After giving Ryan an idea of what I would like to have, he went to work to design and carve a beautiful piece that we are proud to embrace as part of our home. She is an amazing work of art - Ryan is a truly talented artist. Ryan and the boys also installed the beautiful stonework on the front entrance stairway and to the front exterior of the house. The job was done professionally and in a timely manner. They gave us a date for completion and it was done on time! Thanks to Ryan, Nicolene and the boys for their knowledge and exemplary customer service".
Janette & Bill Schwandt
Home Owners, Owners at Hoffmann Kool Insurance

Our Stone Carver and Masonry Designer, Ryan Watson had the pleasure of designing Taverna Italian Kitchen's fireplace. This Summer we installed the limestone and brick facade on the building's exterior (as shown below and throughout our website), so Watson chose to carry on the same vibe inside.

For the purposes of this post for our House on Hastings project, let’s go through a few quick definitions with regards to using real stone for your fireplaces versus cast concrete. Natural stone is millions of years old. It is quarried from the earth and has gone through many natural changes over time. Cast stone is a type of precast concrete designed to simulate different types of natural cut stone. 
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Let’s now review a few points about natural stone that might be considered advantageous. It is relatively strong, stable, timeless, and durable, as witnessed by monuments and works of art that are centuries old and have aged wonderfully.

Natural stone will appreciate in value when used properly, is very eco-friendly, will resist natural elements, requires minimal maintenance, and offers almost limitless design options as seen on the following three Indiana limestone surrounds for our House on Hastings project. All of our fireplace surrounds, (including these three here) were designed and hand-carved by our Stone Carver and Masonry Designer, Ryan Watson. The first fireplace above was installed in the homes must have Man Cave. The fireplace below was installed in the homes main Floor Great Room, with the final fireplace in the families Master Suite. 

Natural stone comes in various shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and patterns. There is a stone that is perfect for almost every application out there. It can be considered a one-of-a-kind building material, and in fact, hand-carved natural stone (as shown here) is a true work of art!

Stone is similar to fingerprints, in that no one has the same fingerprint, and that is something that makes choosing natural stone one of a kind. There are many natural causes that affect the graining and coloration of stone over time. They include mineral deposits, underground springs, temperature, and seismic shifts. These occurrences are impossible to re-create and can only be done by Mother Nature herself. All of the “imperfections,” what I like to think of as character, are unique reflections of the stone’s “life.”

There are a few drawbacks when considering cast stone for your fireplace surrounds, hearth and mantel included. For example, cast stone struggles to achieve the same level of detail as carved natural stone. There is only so much you can capture with the molds that produce the product, whereas the possibilities are endless when you have a sculptor carving natural stone. The hardness and density of the stone and the artistic expression of the artisan doing the work add immeasurable value that simply cannot be achieved in the cast counterpart. It can also be quite challenging for a cast stone producer to achieve a genuine visual interpretation of veining and overall stone “movement.”
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So consider all these factors before your decision is cast in stone!
Info above courtesy of: Materials Marketing

Watch our Stone Carver, Ryan Watson in action with carving chisel in hand by checking out our YouTube videos HERE. For more on this House on Hastings project that we started last year, go HERE and HERE. You will also find an album on our company's facebook page called "House on Hastings" for more cool pictures of the homes progress. Did you know we offer sneak peeks of our work on instagram? Follow us there too at rocco_masons - Stay tuned for more!